8,000kg of dead fish wash up on Chon Buri beach

Nothing ruins a lovely day at the beach like thousands of kilogrammes of dead fish washing ashore. But the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources has at least confirmed the source of the vast quantities of chacunda fish gizzard shad that washed up on Bang Saen beach in Chon Buri province.

It turns out the disgusting display of dead fish was caused by the damaged net of a fishing boat. The department issued the clarification in response to a TikTok video clip of the incident that went viral among Thai social media.

On Saturday evening, over 8,000 kilograms of chacunda gizzard shad were found on the beach, prompting officials to take swift action and remove the dead fish from the area.

The video clip raised questions among tourists online, questioning how this unsettling view came to be. Many suspected that the incident was caused by a change in sea current. Others thought they were witnessing a flood of wastewater being dumped into the ocean and washing the dead fish up on shore.

But the department reassured the public about the dead fish. No, this wasn’t a poisoning incident, nor had the seawater become so toxic that it was killing all the marine life. The incident was merely the result of a damaged fishing net. They confirmed that the seawater quality is normal.

Aside from the stomach-churning sight of about eight tonnes of fish washing up on shore, many locals were spooked at the possible mass death of chacunda gizzard shad as they are a popular and profitable species to fish.

The department said that the tonnes of dead fish is not a dire warning of a catastrophe. They are, in fact, quite the opposite – a demonstration of how plentiful and fruitful the oceans of Thailand’s coasts really are.

They issued a statement confirming these weren’t a sign of fish being killed off, but rather a huge fishing haul that got dumped to the shores because of a damaged net.

“A large school of chacunda gizzard shad can be found during this time.”

The department has also taken this opportunity to urge people to preserve coastal and marine resources. While this incident was a fluke, even minor changes can have a significant impact on the environment and the livelihoods of those who depend on it.